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Bee forage check

How good is this spot for honey bees?

Enter an address or tap the map. You'll see which bee plants and crops are within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more), when the honey flow comes and when there's a dearth, nearby water, a few things worth checking, and how the spot ranks against random sites in your state and across the country.

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The colors are the national forage map: every square kilometer of the lower 48, scored the same way. See the honey flow for your state and town, the best and worst spots we found, or how the scoring works.

Forage report for 46.4819, -103.3179

Estimated forage here is better than about 36% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (50th percentile) and lowest in fall (8th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.3 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.6 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi SE). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 24th, summer 90th, fall 82nd)
  • North Dakota: 36th percentile (spring 50th, summer 41st, fall 8th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 95th percentile (spring 28th, summer 95th, fall 23rd)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across North Dakota, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Apr 16 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Jul 31 — Canola
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Aug 31 — Sunflower, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 213 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 148 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Sunflower: about 171 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 113 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 47 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Canola, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Canola, Sunflower, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Alfalfa, Sunflower, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Canola, Sunflower, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

An estimate from public maps (USDA crop maps 2021-2025 averaged, LANDFIRE vegetation), not a survey of the ground. Maps can't see garden plantings, understory density, other beekeepers' hives, or this year's weather. Honey composition is a nectar-source estimate, not a pollen analysis. Benchmark 2026.5. How this works.